By Neil Hare
The latest buzz phrase to come out of social media is the concept of “quiet quitting,” where burned-out or disgruntled employees make as little effort as possible to keep their paychecks. The rationale for this workplace approach is that work is not the most important thing in people’s lives, they should not spend extra time without compensation, and they should be free to pursue other activities outside of work.
This concept really stood out to me for a few reasons, mainly due to its lack of novelty. If you’re old enough to remember George Costanza from Seinfeld hiding under his desk or pretending to be annoyed or busy looking to avoid commands, then you know we’ve seen this before. The concept is also known as “calling” or better yet, the 80-20 rulewhere 20% of employees do 80% of the work.
The question is whether the 2022 version of this concept is somehow different and whether managers and entrepreneurs should take an equally different approach, especially in the wake of the Great Resignation and with the growth of the gig economy.
Contents
Happiness at work is a new concept
About 30 years ago, the concept of ‘happiness in the workplace’ did not exist. Employers expected you to be grateful for an opportunity and go the extra mile to get ahead. This meant coming in early and staying late to show your commitment. Employees would compete to be the last to leave the office in the evening. And of course there was no expectation of overtime for these extra hours.
There were also many management styles that would not be acceptable in today’s work environment. For example, managers were often encouraged to fire people when they took on a new position to show the team who was in charge, even if it wasn’t justified. It was also acceptable in many companies to yell and insult employees for bad work, both privately and in front of colleagues. This kind of hard love made the concept of quietly quitting much less appealing.
Another management trick was to pit employees against each other to compete for one promotion. Hopefully you were smart enough to spot the competition and who to compete against, and compete accordingly. Employees were encouraged to “pick up the pen” and take on a new assignment that might be outside their job description, but that showed their dedication and desire for that promotion. And in the end, if you didn’t get the promotion above your peer, you were often a “dead end man.”
The rise of mobile is contributing to workplace misfortune
I started my own consultancy in the early 2000s, about the time when mobile communications really took off. So while I was able to create my own workplace culture, customers began to expect companies to be available 24/7/365 because they knew you always had a mobile device with you.
That scenario has expanded exponentially with improved technology, project management apps, and social media. Everyone actually checks their phone non-stop, so why shouldn’t managers and customers expect a quick response? Covid and the rise of Zoom (and other virtual meeting tools) also contributed to the expectation that employees must be constantly online and reachable.
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A perfect storm to calm down
Obviously the 2022 version of silent quitting is slightly different from the 90’s version. The constant pinging of texts, Slack and WhatsApp messages, Insta messages, LinkedIn bragging rights, and now TikTok coils has its tolls, especially on younger workers. As Gen Zers crave Instagram likes, knowing they can’t escape their jobs in any meaningful way is causing this backlash. “Hey, if you can ping me anytime, I can quietly quit.”
This happened before Covid, but the mental trauma of surviving the lockdown took a major toll, the full extent of which we don’t yet know. For younger lone workers, lockdown meant prolonged loneliness and isolation. This created a pent-up demand to communicate and live outside of a job that is still performed online. “I survived Covid to now stay alone in my apartment and call Zoom all day? No, I’m quietly stopping.”
These differences are real and should be respected and treated appropriately. Entrepreneurs and managers need to understand that the gig economy provides opportunities for workers to earn the same or more money without the structure and time commitments of a full-time job. And many workers, especially young people, are willing to live without some of the security and benefits of a full-time job.
Young workers also tell themselves that they don’t have to climb the corporate ladder to be happy in life. But it takes a certain amount of money to live in modern America with the things we expect: home ownership, two cars, two vacations a year, dining out, and paying for college. If you don’t want to work hard to get to the top, you may not have the resources to live the life you want. But maybe there is a middle ground?
Top 10 Tips for Managing Silent Stopping
Here are a few ideas for managers that are legitimate ways to both improve employee happiness and protect your workplace culture:
1. No Sunday emails. We all get them and probably sent them. You’re trying to get ahead in your week, so you send emails to your team on Sundays. That only creates fear, stress and resentment. Better be a firestorm, or just wait until Monday.
2. No weekend work. Again, unless the matter is so urgent, which is rarely the case, don’t burden your employees with weekend work – unless, of course, that’s their normal work schedule.
3. Reduce the number of meetings and their length. Meetings should be work sessions or about strategy, not status checks for the most part. Managers should ask themselves why they are calling for a meeting and if it is really productive. Start with the premise that no meeting should last longer than 30 minutes and go from there.
4. Do you really need Slack (or other collaboration tools)? No explanation needed.
5. Limit ‘fun activities’ in the workplace. Sure, the yoga class and happy hour seem like a good idea, but many employees want to do yoga and have happy hour on their own time and with their own friends. Maybe you just give them an hour of their time back.
6. Set goals based on milestone achievement and quality of work. With teleworking you do not know whether your employee works a full week, but does that matter? If they know what the job is and when it has to be done and the work is top notch, isn’t that enough?
7. No team building exercises. No explanation needed.
8. Give praise – it’s free. Many people want to know that they are valued, valued and respected. Today’s job market means you can’t tell an employee to “hitch it up or leave it,” so make sure they know you appreciate them and their work. It just takes effort.
9. Pay more money – it’s not free, but it’s worth it. Raises and bonuses should be given more often and more freely. The old annual statement and the basic 3% cost of living increases should be a thing of the past. Of course, don’t reward someone for not giving 100%, but employees are less likely to quit if they see financial rewards for their efforts.
10. Firekillers. At some point, if an employee is unhappy or not doing enough work, it may be time to break up, especially with those who are spreading negativity and disharmony throughout the team. Quitting quietly can affect other employees who may still want to give 110% and move up through the company. While employees may have the desire and right to be happier at their jobs than in the past, they have no right to adversely affect their employer, especially when that employer is a smaller company.
What will the workplace of tomorrow look like?
Who knows what the future of productivity, remote working and the gig economy will bring. However, as employers and managers, we must move with the times, especially with the new generation of workers today, who have different ideas about financial rewards, equality and inclusion, and their lifestyles.
However, the fact remains that our capitalist system rewards hard work and effort. There is no denying that higher paying jobs are harder to get and scarcer than lower level jobs, where quitting quietly can go unnoticed.
There’s also no question that the “American Dream” isn’t getting any cheaper. Employees need to understand the consequences of quietly quitting or being fired.
About the author
Neil Hare is a lawyer and president of GVC Strategies, where he specializes in small business policy, advocacy and communications campaigns; follow him on Twitter @nehare and further LinkedIn. See more articles from Neil and the full bio at AllBusiness.com.
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